Warbird Information Exchange

hello all,

Does anyone know if the SR-71 is still used? The last time I heard anything about it was that the CIA was still flying two? Any chance of ever seeing one fly?


Thanks,
Nate

After USAF retired them the second time, NASA Dryden flew a couple for a few more years, but I believe they quit in '99 or '00 timeframe...

Otherwise, I don't know of any...

They may not be flying today ... but I wonder if there is anything in the wings that is flying to replace it?

Satellites.

Higher, faster, further, cheaper.

Cheers,

Brett

Our former next door neighbor was a retired Navy test pilot that went to work for NASA. He flew the SR-71. NASA was the last one flying the SR-71 and he ended flying the next to last SR-71 flight a few years ago. He was supposed to make the very last flight, but I think they scrubbed the flight because of a fuel problem if I remember correctly

Yep - that's the official party line.

Trouble is, satellites have limited maneuverability. SR-71 can go wherever you need to look!

It always amazes me what's kept secret & for how long...I just wonder what else is out there...

maxum96 wrote


What kind of fuel problem can you have when the tanks leak like a sieve until it reaches cruising speed!

JP-7 fuel is pretty specialized - I could easily see having trouble with it, contamination in the tanker, etc.

Maybe they weren't leaking enough.

As has already been said, satellites can't move around much, or very often.

Lockheed offered up a package for the US military during the first gulf war, reactivating a handful of SR-71s. Dick Cheney's response to was a vehement no, stating "If we let that plane back into the inventory, we'll never get it out again!" (per Ben Rich's autobiography)

Some of the recon duty the SR-71 provided is probably being handled by drones. Small drones for tactical recon, larger drones for more strategic missions. They're smaller, cheaper, easier to hide from radar, can loiter longer, and if one gets shot down over....ahem.....questionable territory, there's no chance of a Francis Gary Powers incident.

_________________
Phil K.
Yankee Air Museum
Systems Admin / Ramp Crew / Professional Photo Ruiner

Well, during the Gulf War, I did see one flying in England doing a mission to Iraq/Kuwait

I wonder the exact same thing... who knows what's in some restricted hangar at skunk works etc.

_________________
Taylor Stevenson

With the pilot-less vehicles like the Predator and the Global Hawk, there isn't a need to risk a pilot anymore. They have been using them to great effect in the Middle East for quite some time. They have long loiter times and the capability to carry weapons, making it a great replacement for reconnaissance-only aircraft. I really doubt that there is going to be another airplane like the SR-71 because of costs.

Can you tell me more about the timeline? This doesn't coincide with conventional wisdom regarding the Blackbird's retirement. The SR-71, during it's initial Air Force retirement, flew it's last sortie on 6 March 1990. The invasion of Kuwait didn't happen until 2 August 1990, some 5 months after it's retirement.

AFAIK, the SR-71 was not used during operation Desert Storm.

From wikipedia:

"Four months after the plane's retirement, General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. was told that reconnaissance which the SR-71 could have provided was unavailable during Operation Desert Storm."

That quote is from here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sr-71

Did you mean to say that the SR-71 was being used on Iraq/Kuwait prior to the invasion of Kuwait which was prior to Operations Desert Shield/Storm?

I'm also interested in Warbird I's question, as I remember the same thing...the SR-71 was not available during the Gulf War.

John